Those materials flow directly to manufacturers who build new batteries — batteries that will power cars, stabilize the grid, support emergency systems, and keep essential facilities operating.

Most people will never realize that materials inside their new battery have likely been doing this work for decades.

Infinite cycles. Zero degradation. The same critical minerals, repurposed again and again.

If that’s not tomorrow’s power, what is?

Why This Battery Day Matters More Than Ever

This year’s Battery Day lands at a pivotal moment.

Lead has been formally designated on the federal Critical Minerals List. Global antimony restrictions have revealed how fragile supply chains can be. AI growth is reshaping electricity demand. And conversations about grid resilience, backup power, and domestic manufacturing are happening at every level of government and industry.

But maybe the shift is even simpler.

Maybe people are finally realizing what this industry has always understood:

You can’t build new batteries without the materials recovered from old ones.

Domestic supply security isn’t an abstract policy concept; it’s the daily output of America’s lead battery recyclers.

To Everyone Who Makes This Possible

To the operators managing furnaces at precise temperatures to recover three critical minerals at once.
To the drivers collecting batteries from hundreds of thousands of locations across the country.
To the engineers who continually refine and improve recovery processes.
To the safety teams ensuring every shift ends with everyone going home healthy.
To the business leaders navigating complex regulations while keeping materials flowing to manufacturers.

This Battery Day, we recognize you.

Your work recovers the critical minerals that power tomorrow — the data centers running AI, the hospitals protecting patients, the forklifts moving essential goods, the vehicles starting on cold mornings, the emergency systems standing ready when the grid falters.

Every one of those applications depends on lead batteries.
And every lead battery depends on the minerals you recover from yesterday’s batteries.

You’re not only in the recycling business.
You’re in the critical minerals business.
You’re in the supply‑security business.
You’re in the tomorrow business.

Why This Matters Now

The U.S. produces zero primary lead. Lead concentrates from domestic mines are exported for processing. Without battery recycling, we would depend entirely on foreign imports for a material that powers nearly 300 million vehicles, hospital backup systems, military installations, and critical infrastructure nationwide.

A Real-World Test of Supply Chain Resilience

The strategic importance of domestic recycling became clear in December 2024 when China imposed export restrictions on antimony—another critical mineral recovered during battery recycling. Antimony prices doubled overnight. Industries dependent on Chinese imports faced immediate uncertainty.

Lead battery recyclers continued operations, recovering antimony alongside lead and tin from the same recycling stream. When foreign supply chains failed, domestic infrastructure proved its reliability.

The Export Challenge

However, unlawful exports of spent lead batteries threaten this domestic supply security. These exports allow critical minerals—lead, antimony, and tin—to leave the United States and North America circular economy, undermining the infrastructure ABR members have built.

Curtailing unlawful exports would allow current recycling facilities to operate at full capacity and encourage investment in future expansion. Enforcing existing regulations protects the critical minerals infrastructure that keeps America’s essential systems running.

What Comes Next

Critical minerals designation informs federal investment priorities, trade policy, workforce development, and research funding. Lead’s inclusion creates opportunities for the recycling sector to participate in conversations traditionally dominated by mining interests.

This recognition matters because when an industry supplies 70% of domestic demand for a critical mineral while achieving the highest recycling rate of any consumer product, it deserves acknowledgment proportional to its contribution.

For ABR members, the work continues as it always has—recovering critical minerals, supporting domestic manufacturing, and proving that circular economy infrastructure delivers both environmental and strategic value.